Them Waterbenders
by silvershoelace
Summary: Tahno and Korra have a little moment. More on Tahno's pain than anything.


Them Waterbenders

A few weeks have passed since the raid in Hiroshi Sato's mansion. The city was hustling and bustling with all sorts of activities. The police force was hard at work, lurking the city day and night without rest. The merchants were trying to keep their business up, some encouraged to do well now that the triad no longer controls their businesses. While some are protesting, hoping to release Cabbage Corp's president, who is mainly their supplier. The council was busy trying to hide whatever they can hide from the public's eye and of course, the reporters were doing everything in their might to dig through it.

As for Tahno, every day he finds himself at one of the benches in the park. The bench where only _he _sat. It may also be due to his clothes reeking of alcohol. He hasn't really been taking care of his magnificent self, pardon, his _former_ magnificent self. His hair's usual shine and bounce were gone replaced with a dull and unruly mane. His clothes, once top of the fashion line, have been worn for three days straight, maybe more, he wasn't quite sure. His so-called friends disappeared from his side and now has no one to turn to. And to top it all off, he couldn't even bend a milliliter of water. Try as hard as he can, the end results are the same: He can't bend anymore.

He sighed and looked at the pond. Children were splashing water at each other. _Non-bending_ children. He wished he could have as much fun not being able to bend as those kids. They started screeching and giggling when a huge polar bear dog jumped in the water and soaked them wet. He knew that polar bear dog. Which means…

"Hey Tahno!" A pair of bright blue eyes greeted him from his right side. The young avatar was leaning down on him wearing a beautiful smile.

"Hey _Uh-vatar."_ He replied, trying to smirk, but failed miserably.

Korra straightened up and looked at the children playing with Naga. "Nice day out, isn't it?"

Tahno pursed his lips. She could try to make conversation, but it's useless to him. She shouldn't waste her precious avatar time on him. "What do you want, Avatar?" He lazily replied instead.

He saw her think for a moment. He noticed the way her eyes shot up and how her mouth twisted a little to the right and how her lips pursed into a cute pout. "Actually," she began, "I wasn't really expecting to see you here. But since you're already here, might as well keep ourselves company." She finished, placing her hands on her hips, the _Korra way._

Tahno raised his brows at her. "Got nothing better to do, _Uh-vatar?"_

Korra's reply was to slump down next to him and cross her legs. "I guess not."

They talked about little things, avoiding the topic of Amon taking his waterbending away. They talked mainly about his origins, how he was raised, and about Korra's experiences in her Avatar training.

"We're not much different, then." She concluded. "We've been basically been pulled out of our families and pushed into big responsibilities."

Tahno couldn't help adding, "And failing."

It was barely above a whisper, but Korra heard it perfectly. They shared a long silence after that. No one really knew how to open things up again, or didn't really see the need to keep on talking.

After a while, Korra stood up and approached the water. She raised her left arm and turned her palm up, controlling the water. She flicked her wrist and the water shot up and dropped to her waiting right hand. She continued maneuvering the water into different little ways, forming imaginary eights with her arms, her legs bending as she showcased her excellence in form.

Tahno was amazed at her gracefulness. She may be a brute force to reckon with, but she is a waterbender. And bending this wonderful element required a great amount of grace and smoothness. And that was what Korra is right now. An entity of those traits.

He didn't know when or how he got beside her. He just found himself mirroring her movements. He was well aware of the movements she was making. His grandmother taught him ancient and conservative styles when he was a young boy, back when he was happy. For a moment, he felt the same happiness again. The comfort that water brings to a waterbender.

Korra saw a small smile appear on Tahno's face. He might be a jerk, but every jerk had a heart. And his was broken in pieces right now and he's not even trying to glue the pieces on. He was shattered.

A groan was heard from the polar bear dog who was still playing in the water. The children were trying to climb on her back, and Naga didn't really let just anybody ride her. Korra's concentration broke and with it, the water dropped back to the pond despite Tahno's continued movements.

It took Korra half a second to remember and once she turned back towards the former probender, she wished she could take away all his pain. For on his face was a look of shock, anguish, pain, and sorrow. He stood there like a rock not moving, almost seeming not breathing.

The avatar closed the distance between them and hugged him so fiercely, offering whatever comfort she can give him.

"I promise, I'll get him." She whispered in his ear. "I'll get him. For you."

Korra felt something pull her towards Tahno's body. She realized she was returning her hug. He burrowed his face in her neck and cried.

He couldn't even control his tears. He really wasn't a waterbender anymore.


End file.
